Award
2018 Young Investigator Award Winner—Award from Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Department
Mechanical Engineering
What is the impact of your research?
The impact of my research in general is to develop advanced manufacturing technologies (especially additive manufacturing and material designs) to create materials and devices that challenge how they should behave and what they could do in our common perception. For example, a material or structure made out of metal could be engineered to be as light as a feather; a ceramic can be engineered to select different sound frequency, a gear sets could be as small as the diameter of your hair. In the future, a small block of single material will have many simultaneous functionalities, including structural strength, flexibility, as well as sensing, actuation and being responsive to external stimuli.
For this particular award, my research is to look at the fundamental engineering principles and leverage our customized new additive manufacturing to create new materials and device components that has been traditionally hard and brittle, to entail flexibility, morphing, lightweight as well as surviving harsh environments.
What do you like most about the field of mechanical engineering?
I really enjoy the multidisciplinary aspects, the breadth, and impacts of mechanical engineering. It is the oldest yet one of the most innovative fields today, covering basic science, mechanics, materials, robotics, manufacturing — you name it. It basically encompasses everything in our material and data life. I can't imagine anything without mechanical engineering. I have been in mechanical engineering since undergrad and that has never changed.
What path did you take to get to this point in your career and research?
I founded and directed the Advanced Manufacturing and Metamaterials Laboratory at Virginia Tech. I also hold an affiliate position at the Macromolecules and Innovation Institute as well as Department of Material Science and Engineering. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, I had been a Member of Technical Staff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, where I worked on disruptive additive manufacturing initiatives and materials with controlled micro-architectures.
When you are not researching, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I enjoy running, working out, traveling, reading non-fiction, and cartoons.